2nd Tank Division (Soviet Union)
| 2nd Tank Division (c. 1939 – 1941) 2nd Tank Division (1946–1957) |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 1939–1957 |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army, Soviet Army |
| Part of | Far East Military District |
| Engagements | Harbin-Kirin Operation |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Yegor Solyankin |
The 2nd Tank Division (2-я танковая дивизия) was a division of the Red Army and Soviet Ground Forces, which was formed twice under very different circumstances.
The 3rd Mechanised Corps (Soviet Union) was first formed in July 1940, and on 22 June 1941, was stationed at Vilnius in the Baltic Military District under MG A.V. Kurkin. It consisted of 2nd Tank Division (Maj. Gen. Yegor Solyankin) 5th Tank Division, 84th Motorised Division, 15th Motorcycle Regiment, an artillery regiment, and engineer and signals battalions. On 22 June, the 2nd Tank Division was located in the forest in Gajzhuny, in the Ionava area. On 22 June 1941, the 3rd Mechanised Corps had 31,975 men & 651 tanks, of which 110 were new T-34 and KV-1 types.
The division was heavily engaged in the first battles of Operation Barbarossa, particularly during the Baltic Operation (1941) and at the Battle of Raseiniai.
On 23 June, Kampfgruppe Von Seckendorff of the German 6th Panzer Division, consisting of 114th Panzergrenadier Regiment (motorized infantry), Aufklärungsabteilung 57 (Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion 57), one company of Panzerjäger Battalion 41, and, that morning only, Motorcycle Battalion 6, was overrun by 2nd Tank Division near Skaudvilė. The German Panzer 35(t) tanks and antitank weapons were ineffective against the Soviet heavy KV-1 and KV-2 tanks—some of them were out of ammunition but closed in and destroyed German antitank guns by driving over them. The Germans concentrated on immobilising the Soviet tanks by firing at their tracks and then by tackling them with artillery, anti-aircraft guns, or by blowing them up with explosive charges of the sticky bomb type.
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